Family fun and excitement awaits at Memphis Kiddie Park

Apr 17, 2018 11:03AM

By Laura Lytle

As one of the few surviving kiddie parks, most popular in the 1950s, Memphis Kiddie Park. located at 10340 Memphis Avenue in Brooklyn, Ohio, continues the tradition of bringing families together for fun and excitement.

A Cleveland area staple since 1952, Memphis Kiddie Park offers 10 amusement rides for children (under 50 inches tall), a concession stand, arcade and miniature golf course. Free for all to enter and walk around, children can enjoy the park rides with only one ticket needed per ride.

What’s even better is that regularly-priced ride tickets never expire! Families can stay as long or as little as they like without worry. Frequently parents will come in with their children using tickets left over from when they were a little kid.

Originally opened with nine mechanical rides, today the park offers classic entertainment for children on airplanes, boats, an electric roadway, Ferris wheel, Jeeps, merry-go-round, pony carts, skyfighters, and the Big Creek & Memphis Railway, a 1890s-style locomotive that circles the entire park.

And of course, the Little Dipper, Memphis Kiddie Park's most famous ride and recognized by the American Coaster Enthusiasts as the oldest steel coaster still operating in North America. The Little Dipper thrills even adult riders and received a makeover in 2014 with a brand new sign on the top of the hill that is a close replica of the original 1952 design.

While it has a rich history in Cleveland, the park has made many improvements through the years, including replacing the original “diesel” train in 1963 with the current train lending a more traditional look to the park. Also, it no longer has live pony rides in the corral, which can be seen in some of the old pictures on its website, and instead the corral serves as a beautiful picnic space for families, reunions, celebrations, and birthday parties.

True to its roots, Memphis Kiddie Park is still family owned and operated. Park designer and builder Stuart Wintner, and first park manager Bill Applegarth, along with their wives, continued to run the park together until their respective retirements. Now operated by Stuart and Lanny's son and daughter-in-law, Russell and Elli, and managed by Bill and Delores' son-in-law, Mike, the park continues to carry on much as it did when it first opened.

Discover for yourself the family fun so many Clevelanders have enjoyed through the years. Memphis Kiddie Park is open weekends starting April 21 (weather permitting) and will begin its daily summer hours starting May 21.